Papers written or collected by Robertson, 1898-1913
- ROBERTSON, WR 1/2
- Subseries
- 1898 - 1913
Papers written or collected by Robertson, 1898-1913
ROBERTSON, FM Sir William (1860-1933)
Pre-war papers and correspondence, 1898-1914, including lectures, texts and notes written whilst Commandant of the Staff College, Camberley, Surrey. Papers relating to his service as Quartermaster General to the BEF (British Expeditionary Force), Western Front, 1914-1915, including correspondence with Maj Gen Sir Stanley Brenton von Donop, Master General of the Ordnance, and Maj Gen Sir John Steven Cowans, Quartermaster General to the Forces, relating to supplies of equipment, provisions and munitions. Papers and correspondence, 1915, as Chief of General Staff, BEF (British Expeditionary Force), Western Front, principally comprising reports and memoranda prepared for the War Office and the War Council by General Headquarters Staff, 1915; memoranda relating to general military strategy, 1915, notably in the Balkans, Dardanelles, Gallipoli and Egypt; papers in French concerning the Allied Conference at Chantilly, 1915. Papers relating to service as Chief of the Imperial General Staff during World War One, 1915- 1918, principally comprising Army Council and War Cabinet papers relating to manpower, 1915-1918; papers of FM Horatio Herbert Kitchener, 1st Earl Kitchener of Khartoum and Broome, Secretary of State for War, given to Robertson following Kitchener's death in Jun 1916; personal telegrams, 1916- 1917, mainly comprising unofficial messages to and from various army commanders and military attachés in Salonika, Russia, Egypt, Mesopotamia, Italy, Romania, Palestine and the Western Front; memoranda and papers on military operations in the Middle East, 1915-1917, and general strategy, 1917-1918, prepared by Robertson for the War Cabinet; documents relating to the creation of the Allied Supreme War Council, and its various powers and functions, 1917-1918. Papers created as Commander in Chief, Eastern Command and Home Forces, 1918-1919, consisting of inspection reports of various depots and units in the UK, and general correspondence. Papers created as General Officer Commanding in Chief, BAOR (British Army of the Rhine), 1919-1920, including printed memoranda by French Marshal Ferdinand Foch, Allied Supreme Commander on the Western and Italian Fronts, on the conditions required to ensure peace in Europe, 1918-1919; papers relating to the organisation and functions of the British Zone of Occupation in Germany, 1919; correspondence with Gen Sir Henry Hughes Wilson, Chief of the Imperial General Staff, the Rt Hon Winston (Leonard Spencer) Churchill, Secretary of State for War, and Maj Gen Sir Charles 'Tim' Harington Harington, Deputy Chief of the Imperial General Staff, 1919; inspection reports of BAOR (British Army of the Rhine) units, 1919. Private correspondence, mainly relating to Robertson's work during World War One, including correspondence with Lt Col Arthur John Bigge, 1st Baron Stamfordham, Private Secretary to HM King George V, 1914-1918; Maj Gen Charles Edward Callwell, Director of Military Operations at the War Office, 1915; Gen Sir Archibald (James) Murray, Chief of the Imperial General Staff and General Officer Commanding in Chief, Egyptian Expeditionary Force, 1915-1916; the Rt Hon David Lloyd George, Secretary of State for War, 1916, and Prime Minister, 1916-1918; FM Sir Douglas Haig, Commander in Chief, British Armies in France, 1915-1918; Maj Gen Frederick (Barton) Maurice, Director of Military Operations at the War Office, 1917-1918; and the Rt Hon Winston (Leonard Spencer) Churchill, Secretary of State for War, 1919-1920. Also including correspondence, memoranda and notes concerning the events leading up to the resignation of Robertson as Chief of the Imperial General Staff in Feb 1918, dated Jan-Feb 1918. Semi-official papers and private correspondence, 1915-1918, collected by Brig Gen Cecil Courtenay Lucas, Robertson's Aide de Camp, mainly comprising correspondence between Robertson and Gen Sir Archibald (James) Murray, Gen Sir Beauchamp Duff, Gen Sir Charles Carmichael Monro, and Gen Sir Edward Henry Hynman Allenby, relating to military operations in India, Mesopotamia, Egypt and Palestine, 1916-1918; Lt Col Sir Maurice Pascal Alers Hankey, Secretary to the War Cabinet and the Committee of Imperial Defence, 1916-1917; Lt Gen the Rt Hon Jan Christian Smuts, South African Representative on the British War Cabinet, 1917; Gen Sir (Francis) Reginald Wingate, Governor General of the Sudan, 1916, and High Commissioner of Egypt, 1917; and Lt Col Charles A'Court Repington, Military Correspondent of The Times, 1916-1917. General correspondence with various on military matters, 1916-1918, including Reginald Baliol Brett, 2nd Viscount Esher, Lt Gen George Francis Milne, French Gen Robert Georges Nivelle, Italian Gen Luigi Cadorna, Lt Gen Sir Frederick Stanley Maude, and Gen Sir Herbert Charles Onslow Plumer.
Robertson, Sir William Robert, 1860-1933, 1st Baronet, Field Marshal
Papers, 1898-1914, relating to Robertson's military career before World War One
Paper written by Robertson whilst a student at the Staff College, Camberley, Surrey, on the changes in the strategical relations between Russia and England produced by the advance and recent acquisitions of the former in the Far East. 13pp.
Notes on the defences of British ports, 1901
Notes made [by Robertson] during a visit of the Committee on Garrisons to the defended ports of Great Britain, 13 Jul-11 Oct, including sketch maps and descriptions of defences. 32pp.
Printed memorandum written by Robertson in 1901, as Assistant Quartermaster General in the Intelligence Section of the War Office, entitled 'The military resources of France, and probable method of their employment in a war between France and England'. The original document has been corrected, and an additional memoranda by Robertson noting developments by 1903 is attached. 14pp.
Paper by Robertson on a proposed alliance between Germany and Great Britain in order to forestall Russian expansion in the Middle East, giving reasons why such an alliance would not be practicable or worthwhile, and Germany should be regarded as a rival rather than an ally. With a covering letter from Lt Gen Sir William Gustavus Nicholson, Director General of Military Intelligence. 11pp.
Bound volume entitled 'Records of a strategic war game', prepared by the Directorate of Military Operations, General Staff, War Office, describing the preliminary work and the course of operations, and providing a summary and conclusion, for an exercise by the Directorate, under the command of Maj Gen James Moncrieff Grierson, Director of Military Operations, exploring the military protection of Belgian neutrality by Great Britain during a Franco-German war. Robertson acted as Commander of the German Forces. 1 vol.
Notes by Robertson on a visit to the USA, 1905
Notes written by Robertson following a visit to the United States, giving his opinions on the character of the American people, and a description of his travels by various methods in New York and Michigan. 10pp.
Anonymous Staff College paper entitled 'The true standard of our military needs', disputing the view that Russian aggression towards Afghanistan and the North-West Frontier of India is the greatest military threat faced by the British Army, and highlighting the need for a scheme for the creation of a National Army based upon European, not Asiatic, conditions. The paper is annotated by Robertson with comments upon the army reforms proposed by the Rt Hon Richard Burdon Haldane, Secretary of State for War. 12pp.
Printed paper by Maj Gen James Montcrieff Grierson, Director of Military Operations, entitled 'Memorandum upon the military forces required for over-sea warfare', giving estimates as to the number of troops which should be dispatched during the first six months of theoretical conflicts with Boer South Africa, France, Germany, the US and Russia. 16pp.
Text of a speech by Robertson on Russia's position in central Asia, [1906]
Text of speech by Robertson on Russia's military position in central Asia at the conclusion of the Russo-Japanese War, providing an assessment of the threat posed to Great Britain in the event of war with Germany. 28pp.
Notes by Robertson on a visit to the Balkans, 1906
Notes written by Robertson following a visit to the Balkan Peninsula, giving his impressions of various military installations in Romania, Bulgaria, Turkey, Macedonia, and personal conclusions reached as to possible alliances between them. 10pp.
Text of a lecture by Robertson on the Balkans, [1908]
Text of lecture given by Robertson at Netheravon, Wiltshire, on the history, geography, governments and present political disputes of the countries of the Balkan Peninsular. 22pp.
Text of a lecture by Robertson on the military geography of Denmark, Netherlands and Belgium, [1908]
Text of lecture given by Robertson at Aldershot, Hampshire, on the military geography of Western Europe, notably Denmark, Holland and Belgium, with emphasis on the possibility of German invasion through Belgium in the event of a war with France. 27pp.
Notes, [1910-1913], on On War, by Carl von Clausewitz
Notes taken by Robertson from On War by Karl Philipp Gottlieb von Clausewitz [possibly Robertson's own translation of the original].
Notes, [1910-1913], on The science of war, by Colonel George Henderson
Notes taken by Robertson from The science of war: a collection of essays and lectures, 1892-1903 (Longmans and Co, London, 1905), by Col George Francis Robert Henderson, edited by Capt N Malcom. 5pp.
Copy, [1910-1913] of a memo by the Duke of Wellington on his Peninsular campaigns, written in 1835
Handwritten copy of a memorandum by FM Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, on his career in the Peninsula, in answer to a question by the Rt Hon Philip Henry Stanhope, Viscount Mahon, Sep 1835. 3pp.
Notes by Robertson, 1912, on the Franco-Prussian war, 1870-1871
Notes written by Robertson for use in teaching, giving a description of the final battles of the Franco-Prussian War, Oct 1870-Jan 1871, following the creation of the French Third Republic in Sep 1870. 12pp.